Torbay Council is set to bring bin collection company Tor2 back under council control following months of disruption to bin collections in the area.

Tor2 is a joint venture company established in July 2010 and owned by Kier Integrated Services Ltd and Torbay Council – a unitary authority covering the towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham – with the parties owning 80.01 per cent and 19.99 per cent of the shares respectively. The company originally had a 10-year contract to deliver Torbay’s residual waste collection services, but both Torbay and Kier have now agreed to negotiate an end to the contract two years early.

Councillors voted to bring all black bin collections, recycling and other front line services, including the maintenance of highways, grounds, parks and car parks and the council’s vehicle fleet, back into council hands on Thursday 21 June and will now enter discussions with Kier over acquiring the company’s majority holding.

The decision has been taken in response to Tor2’s running of the council’s bin collections, which have come in for significant criticism from residents, with missed collections blamed by Tor2 on vehicle breakdowns and a shortage of drivers.

While no firm date for the end of the contract has yet been decided, it is possible that it could be brought to an end before the year is out, with the council and Kier continuing their working relationship until such a date has been agreed.

Torbay Councillor Derek Mills, who is the Executive Lead for Planning and has responsibility for Tor2, said: “The council continues to face many challenges so it is vitally important that we make the best use of all our resources. Taking full ownership of Tor2 will give us much more flexibility over setting the future direction of the company and delivering the best services we can for our residents.”

Kier Highways Finance Director Joe Incutti, who is the Chair of the Tor2 Board, added: “Kier is wholly committed to supporting Torbay Council to ensure the best possible outcome for the people of Torbay and the employees of Tor2. We will work with Torbay Council supporting our teams and looking to ensure that any future changes to Tor2 are both smooth and seamless.”

Back in-house

Torbay Council is but the latest in a long line of local authorities deciding to bring waste collection services back in-house in order to cut costs and increase council control. Blackpool Borough Council announced that it would be bringing its domestic waste collection service back under council control once its contract with Veolia ended in April, following the example set by authorities such as those in Slough, Powys, East Cambridgeshire, Rushmoor and Bristol.

The financial challenge for councils posed by waste management and recycling is well-known, with the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) releasing a policy paper in April calling for an overhaul of the local authority funding regime in order to maintain service standards and increase recycling.

In response to the trend of councils bringing waste collection services back in-house on the premise that it will save money, the Environmental Services Association (ESA), which represents some of the UK’s biggest waste management companies, launched a campaign urging councils to embrace outsourcing as a way to cut costs and drive innovation in waste service delivery.

Commenting on the campaign, ESA’s Executive Director Jacob Hayler said: “It is no surprise that councils across the country are examining all their options during a period of unprecedented financial challenges for the local government sector. Local authorities are under huge pressure to maintain service levels for their residents, improve recycling performance, and above all to save money. ESA agrees that councils are best placed to decide how they want to manage these trade-offs, but we believe that the market is best placed to deliver value for money.

“By transferring risks to the private sector, local authorities are able to insulate themselves from unforeseen costs and gain greater certainty over their budgets. The risk for delivering a quality service to cost lies with the contractor and is enforced through its legal obligations under the contract. This provides transparency and accountability in the delivery of the services, which improves outcomes for council tax payers.

“ESA recognises that many local authorities are concerned about locking themselves into inflexible arrangements for up to 10 years for their waste services. But we believe that competitive tenders – open to both private and publicly owned service providers – can be used to protect councils from changes in future legislation in the most affordable way. We are keen to work with the local government sector to explore new contracting solutions which would help to address this.”